It’s been a busy few years for The Presets. The duo’s 2005 debut album Beams was critically acclaimed, with the popularity of the single Are You The One? helping to fuel a hectic touring schedule across Britain and the US. 07/08 saw The Presets achieve success on an entirely different level, their sophomore album Apocalypso resulting in multiple hit singles, a host of ARIA awards and a touring slot with legendary French act Daft Punk. For WA fans, last Saturday’s concert at Challenge Stadium represented the final opportunity to see the duo on stage before they return to the studio to produce their third album.

Predictably, there was no shortage of enthusiasm amongst the all ages crowd. After supporting acts Canyons and The Bag Raiders did their bit to keep the growing crowd entertained, the lights were dimmed and, just before 9.30pm, Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes appeared on stage to rapturous applause.

No prize for guessing what the first two tracks of the night were. After a slow and measured instrumental build up, the duo delivered their familiar opening brace, bursting into a pulsating rendition of Talk Like That, closely followed by the funky Yippiyo-Ay. With a powerful sound and a dazzling light and laser show to rival an epileptic’s worst nightmare, the atmosphere was electric from the outset.

Resplendent in a white blazer, T-shirt and jeans, Hamilton manned the myriad synthesisers and keyboards surrounding him while delivering his trademark booming vocals. On the other side of stage, Moyes pounded away on his drums, occasionally moving across to play vibraphones or one of the other percussion instruments set out on stage. After the emphatic opening, the duo worked in some of their earlier material, returning to Beams for Girl And The Sea and Are You The One?, interspersed by If I Know You. it was Are You The One? that obtained my vote for song of the night, a significantly heavier version of the track showing that, beneath The Presets’ infectious electro-pop outer, there lies a substantially harder techno core.

After the crowd caught its collective breath over the relatively restrained performance of Together, the main set was brought to frenetic finish with crowd favourites This Boy’s In Love, Kicking And Screaming and My People.

As expected, it wasn’t long before Hamilton and Moyes returned to the stage for an encore (it’s not like the underage kids had anywhere else to go). Underage and overage kids alike were kept happy for another 20 minutes as an instrumental exploration morphed into Anywhere, the final track off Apocalypso. All in all, it was an exceptionally polished performance from The Presets, a 90-minute set of cutting edge electro-pop with some heavier tech moments thrown in here and there.

Being my first time attending a gig at Challenge Stadium, I was surprisingly impressed by the arena’s acoustics. Add to that the ability to sit or stand and an abundance of car parking and you have the makings of an ideal venue for many more all ages gigs in the future. With the NBL now in disarray, such gigs may well be more lucrative than the Wildcats games held in the same place. Music lovers can only hope.